I use a VX-3R as a scanner. FM broadcast really isn't THAT bad, it's better than broadcast AM, anyway.
The biggest thing going for it, of course, is its micro size, good for stealth, if such attributes are your thing. People seem to think it is a cell phone, which isn't a bad thing.
Antenna will make a difference, for better or worse. I use a totally ridiculous Diamond SRH805S. I think the "gain" is about -2 db, but the antenna is 1 3/4 inches long, so I can stick the radio, antenna and all into my pocket, no sweat. A better antenna for actual performance would be the 6 inch Diamond SRH815.
I use FTBVX3 software to do the programming, and the radio has 1000 memories, so it holds what you need. Scanning through all the channels is slow compared to the typical Uniden or GRE scanner. You get 6 character alpha tags, which is better than nothing. Of course, trunking and digital are out of the question.
If you have a number of analog conventional frequencies you need to listen to unobtrusively, I'd say go for for it. On the other hand, for the $180 you'd drop on a VX-3R, you could get a much faster (and larger) trunking scanner.